You and I
by josie823
Summary: This time, I'm not leaving without you.


A/N: So, it's been a long time since I've written fanfiction and I have been shipping these two ever since the Avengers movie came out. This song just kind of stuck in my head (it's my fave song ever. Lady Gaga rules!) and I just related everything to Natasha. I love her, although, yeah, I'm not exactly good at capturing her personality as of the moment. Hihi, peace.

* * *

Natasha Romanoff considered herself a true Black Widow. After seducing the male specimen, she outright killed him. Or just left, in _his_ case. It was no secret that she's been with a lot of men. Her emotional detachment skills were paying off to her benefit more often than not; making it easier to just disappear from their lives. And vice versa. After seven or eight months of wandering around the world, staying away from people she knew, she found herself regressing to the life she had always known. Rogue; not really belonging to the world.

And like some sort of destined call, she just had to be called back in to New York again, for SHIELD. They just never left her alone. Being the loyal agent that she was, she returned. And as she expected, one of her most prized "victims" (although he might not have found out about that) was present.

Their paths have crossed just once again. So, when their eyes met, she didn't look away.

"Hey, Soldier."

_**It's been a long time since I came around**_

_**Been a long time but I'm back in town**_

_**And this time I'm not leaving without you**_

And so she stood there, smiling at him with that Cheshire smile she always wore, crossing her arms over her chest. She wore a red polkadotted dress and almost the same hoodie that day when they kissed on the escalator in the mall while on disguise. Well, except the shoes. Her beige pumps made her look taller and her legs longer. She wore little to no makeup. Her now fiery red, curly hair was hidden under the hood, save for the few strands that went to caress her face.

_**You said, sit back down where you belong**_

_**In the corner of my bar with your high heels on**_

He dragged her away to talk to her alone. It was a little rough, considering him, but she didn't mind. He demanded that she explain to him where she went and why she went missing. Even there in that cheap diner's table, she still sat with her posture perfect and her legs crossed to make her heel dangle off the wooden floor. Even without anybody else there to look at her but him, she still decided to look regal. She seemed to be unfazed by the force and worry etched on his face. She answered his questions without hesitation.

And then they were back to normal.

_**Sit back down on the couch where we,**_

_**Made love the first time…**_

Yes, it was on a couch. But it was a very comfortable one at that. Why else would she opt to travel all the way there instead of inviting him to her place instead, just for their movie nights.

This night wasn't just for their dinner, movie and heavy make out sessions. Oh, no, it's not.

Tonight, they shed off their clothes and went all the way. It wasn't rushed. But somehow they just didn't find the will to carry themselves a few meters away to the bedroom where a bed waited for them. No. They made love on his couch. And it was not less lovely than ever. He whispered sweet nothings to her and kept on being his gentlemanly self all though out—just as she'd always imagine he'd be.

…_**and you said to me:**_

_**Something, something about this place,**_

But the first time Natasha had ever been to his secret-but-not-so-secret apartment in his hometown, she was a little surprised. How could someone with a whole floor of a tower in Manhattan choose this as his favorite hideout? But when she first spent her night there in their spontaneous movie marathon, she somehow understood. It was the homiest place she's ever been in. Or maybe that was just because he was sitting so close to her.

_**Something about lonely nights,**_

_**And my lipstick on your face**_

It started off with the kissing.

"Hope you're hungry," she said one night, stepping in through the door he opened for her. She carried two boxes of pizzas and some DVDs in her hands.

"Always," he chuckled, closing the door gently. He followed her to the kitchen and helped her prepare their supposed dinner.

"So, how come you've suddenly decided to drop by?" he asked, placing two plates on the table.

"I wanted to watch a movie. And I figured you could do with some company." She shrugged before sitting down.

"Naw, you just wanted my beer." He laughed, taking a slice of pizza.

She smirked. "Maybe."

It was a few hours later when they were already in the middle of an Audrey Hepburn movie that they started having a tongue fight that resolved all the sexual tension they've had all this time. Natasha's memory of the whole incident was hazy. Maybe it was because of the alcohol. Or maybe not. All she knew was that it was something that might destroy them someday. But it didn't matter as of the moment.

By the end of the movie, they were already fast asleep with his face smeared with red lipstick.

_**Something, something about my cool Brooklyn guy**_

He smiled at her. That dorky, charming smile that somehow made her days better. She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to the book she was reading a while ago, only half paying attention as she noticed him sketching something on his worn out sketchbook.

_**Yeah, something about,**_

_**Baby, you and I**_

They always just had that certain understanding. They were always just that close.

_**You and I!**_

_**You, you and I!**_

_**Oh, yeah, I'd rather die**_

_**Without you and I**_

Her mind floated off to the second time her whole life changed. There was no more SHIELD. They all went rogue now. Natalia Romanova faced the courts. She didn't kill herself or run off to pretend she died when the world found out about her because she promised one thing. If she found him there in the Potomac alive, she'd face her demons and her past. She'd try to fight for herself now, just like how he taught her. Although she thought by then that he'd probably never figure it out.

But she would never have been able to live with herself if she wasn't able to save him anyway.

_**We got a whole lot of money but we're still paying rent**_

'_**Cuz I can't buy a place in heaven!**_

One morning, they sat around the breakfast island, eating cereal with just a little milk because they already ran out of it and both of them were totally lazy to run to the grocery that morning. They lazed around, he wearing sweats and a sweater; she with just short shorts and his shirt. It threatened to come off her with one sleeve coming off her shoulder.

With their added up incomes, they could have probably afforded the most expensive flat in New York city. And yet they stayed in his tiny Brooklyn apartment which he loved because it was near his old home back in the forties, where he grew up. It was cozy. And she learned to love it, too. It was now their home.

Right there she wondered wherever they would end up if ever the place ever got burned down or whatever Manhattan? Avengers tower? She didn't know. But if someone asked her where they would go when they were done with this life, she'd say she'd be dead and he'd ascend to heaven.

But if someone asked him, he'd say that he'd still keep paying that big rent to stay with her.

_**There are only three men that I serve my whole life,**_

_**It's just Fury and 'Brooklyn' and Jesus Christ**_

Natasha has had very little memories of her biological father. Most of her childhood was brutality, pointy needles, training and killing. Fury was the closest thing she had to a father. He saved her. Like her, he would never say it, but he cared. She trusted him no matter how much he lied to people. She knew he only lied with good intentions. "White lies", that's what they call it.

And even if it was not obvious at all, she did believe in God. No, she didn't show it. If she could lie easily, then it was certainly very easy for her to lie about her faith. But she did believe in a Divine Being. Even if He didn't believe in her anymore. She still believed that she needed to thank Someone for all the good things that happened to her despite the deeds that she did to deserve eternal damnation.

Most of all, she thought that Someone needed to be thanked for blessing her with a guy who could hold the whole world, with all the evils that came with it, including her, with his heart alone. Her Brooklyn guy just continued to amaze her.

Again, she's never going to admit that to anyone though.

_**Something, something about the chase,**_

_**(Three whole years)**_

Damn. Has it really been over three years since she met him? Well, it made sense. At first, they never said anything much to each other. They were Avengers and he was her leader. They protected each other. Well, he saved her life more than she could count. And then they became partners after Clint was sent off to some other long-term mission. And then their friendship and… something else blossomed. Sexual tension, yes? Through thick and thin, through time and distance apart; he was revered as America's golden hero and she was the world's most hated criminal. And yet he continued to be this protective shield for her, hunting her down when she pushed him away.

And right there she thought that they were always just that close.

Maybe that really was the case.

_**And I'm a Russian woman, born to knock you down**_

_**Still want my lipstick all over your face**_

It was ironic, their relationship was. The Golden Boy of America and the ideal Beauty of Russia? Well, it certainly seemed like a symbol of war and call-out for peace. They were teammates, friends or… some flame. They sparred regularly, going at each other for a long time until someone gets knocked out. But more often than not, someone was pinning the other down, continuing the battle with their lips.

_**Something, something about just knowing when it's right…**_

Lying down that night, cuddled up with Steve, with her head on his chest, listening to his steady breathing and powerful heartbeats, she decided. She was going to stay with him.

And she was going to stay with him for good.

_**Yeah, something about,**_

_**Baby, you and I**_

And so, Steve woke up at around six AM that morning, finding Natasha curled at his side, with his own arm firmly pressing her body to his. He smiled, and knew that they were going to stay that way forever. Or at least before breakfast.

_**You and I!**_

_**You, you and I!**_

_**Brooklyn! I'd rather die**_

_**Without you and I**_

They trusted each other as partners even way before SHIELD was known to be a breeding ground for Hydra. They trusted each other to stay alive when they were apart. And they trusted each other to protect the other without even saying anything.

_**It's been a long time since I came around,**_

_**Been a long time but I'm back in town**_

Natasha made a lot of major decisions in her life. But this one was the best one she made.

_**This time I'm not leaving without you.**_


End file.
